HomeMy WebLinkAbout11.16.22 UAPB MinutesMINUTES APPROVED
MPOJC URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD
November 16, 2022 – 4:30 P.M.
North Liberty City Hall – Council Chambers
3 Quail Creek Circle, North Liberty, IA
MEMBERS PRESENT: Coralville: Meghann Foster, Laurie Goodrich
Iowa City: Pauline Taylor, Laura Bergus, Janice Weiner
Johnson County: Rod Sullivan, Jon Green
North Liberty: Erek Sittig, Brian Wayson
University Heights: Louise From
University of Iowa: Erin Shane
Tiffin: Steve Berner
ICCSD: Charlie Eastham
STAFF PRESENT: Kent Ralston, Emily Bothell, Hannah Neel, Sarah Walz, Tunazzina Alam
OTHERS PRESENT: Kelly Schneider
1. CALL TO ORDER
From called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. The meeting was held at North Liberty City Hall.
a. Recognize alternates
Charlie Eastham was recognized as an alternate for Ruthina Malone (Iowa City
Community School District) and Erek Sittig was recognized as an alternate for Chris
Hoffman (North Liberty).
b. Consider approval of meeting minutes
Motion to approve the July 13th, 2022 meeting minutes was made by Sullivan, Weiner
seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
c. Set next Board meeting date, time, and location
Ralston proposed January 25th, 2023 as the next Board meeting date. The meeting will be
held at Iowa City, City Hall.
2. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA
Recognition of Janice Weiner for her service to the Board as she resigns at the end of the
year to serve in the Iowa State Senate.
Introduction of newest MPO staff member, Tunazzina Alam.
3. ADMINISTRATION
a. Confirm entities that will nominate Johnson County representatives to the East Central Iowa
Council of Governments (ECICOG) Board of Directors
Ralston explained that the Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County (MPOJC)
bylaws stipulate how appointments are made to the ECICOG Board of Directors. This
document was revised and approved in 2020. Per the revised bylaws, each January the
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Johnson County Board of Supervisors appoints one elected official representative and one
citizen representative to the East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) Board.
The Urbanized Area Policy Board (UAPB) also appoints two elected official representatives.
One elected official seat is filled by the four largest municipalities in Johnson County. In
2022, that representative was from Iowa City. In 2023, the representative will be designated
by the City of Coralville. One elected official seat is filled by one of the remaining
communities within Johnson County. The 2022 representative is from Lone Tree, and the
2023 representative will be designated by the City of Swisher. Ralston intends to contact
Johnson County, Coralville, and Swisher to request they make their designations within the
next few weeks so they can be brought back to the Board in January for consideration.
b. Appoint a nominating committee for Calendar Year 2023 Urbanized Area Policy Board
Officers
Ralston explained that at the January Urbanized Area Policy Board (UAPB) meeting a Chair
and Vice Chair would be elected by the Board for calendar year 2023. The Chair is
responsible for presiding over meetings, signing contracts, and meeting with the
Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County (MPOJC) Director before meetings.
The Vice-Chair will run meetings when the chairperson is unable to attend.
Ralston proposed that the Board appoint a three-person nominating committee to
recommend a Chair and Vice-Chair. The MPOJC Director has not been included in these
discussions in the past. The nominating committee will provide their nominations at the
January meeting. The current Chair is John Thomas of Iowa City and the Vice-Chair is
Louise From of University Heights. There is a two-year maximum term for these positions,
and both have served one year. Goodrich (Coralville), From (University Heights), and
Bergus (Iowa City) volunteered for the nominating committee.
c. Preliminary discussion of the FY24 MPOJC Budget
Ralston explained that prior to the preparation of the Metropolitan Planning Organization of
Johnson County (MPOJC) budget for the upcoming year, it has been his practice to discuss
any proposed changes to the MPOJC scope of services or operations with the Board. The
MPOJC is part of the City of Iowa City and follows Iowa City budgeting procedures. Capital
expenses for FY24 are expected to be similar to recent years, including a scheduled
replacement of traffic counting equipment, traffic model and traffic signal software
maintenance, and mapping software maintenance. The budget is expected to decrease by
4% due to changes in staff salaries and health benefit costs. Similar to previous years,
$230,000 of Iowa Department of Transportation planning funds will be used in FY24.
$50,000 of internal reserves will be used to ensure an appropriate balance of funds per
internal guidelines and to stabilize assessments. The final budget will be available at the
next Board meeting in January.
4. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
a. Public Hearing and consideration of an amendment to the FY23-26 MPOJC
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) – amending project funding amounts for the
new transit maintenance/bus storage facility in Iowa City
Neel stated that the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is the programming
document for all surface transportation projects that receive state or federal funds. The
MPOJC submits the TIP annually to the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT)
to document the status of local transportation projects using state and federal funds. To
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utilize these funds, projects must be included in the TIP with an accurate scope and
identified funding sources.
Neel explained that Iowa City Transit had requested an amendment to the adopted
MPOJC FY23-26 TIP that would increase the federal funding amount, decrease the local
funding amount, and include a new funding source for the new Transit Maintenance/Bus
Storage Facility project. The current project funding amounts are $16,000,000 in federal
funding and $9,929,955 in local funding for a total of $25,929,955. The new project funding
amounts would be $19,795,500 in federal funding, $750,000 in Transit Infrastructure Grant
funds, and $7,204,500 in local funding. The total would be $27,750,000. The Transit
Infrastructure Grant is congressionally designated, earmarked funding that is to be used
for preliminary design for the new Transit Maintenance/Bus Storage Facility project in Iowa
City.
Neel added that the Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC) unanimously
recommended approval of the proposed amendment at their November 8th meeting.
Ralston explained this amendment is needed so the City of Iowa City can use up-to-date
figures when pursing grant opportunities for the project.
i. Public Hearing
There were no comments from the public.
ii. Consider an amendment to the FY23-26 MPOJC TIP
Monition to approve by Wayson, seconded by Sullivan. The motion carried
unanimously.
b. Consider approval of performance measure target setting for the MPO as required by the
Federal Highway Administration
Ralston stated that the Board approved the adoption of system performance and freight
targets for 2018-21 as part of the Highway Safety Improvement Program in 2018. These
targets must be considered again and reported to the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) by April 1, 2023. One of the following two options must be chosen for each
measure: support the State’s four-year targets or create a set of quantifiable targets for
each measure within the metropolitan area as a Board. At this time, Metropolitan Planning
Organizations (MPOs) must only adopt 4-year targets. It is required to state how projects
programmed in the annual Transportation Improvement Program show progress towards
meeting the adopted safety targets. It is also required that information be provided about
how projects are satisfying the performance measures in updates to the Long-Range
Transportation Plan. MPO targets are not formally evaluated to measure progress toward
meeting adopted targets, rather the State’s targets will be assessed by the FHWA
annually. There are no current penalties or restrictions on how MPO funding can be spent
on projects not supporting established targets, but this may change in the future. Due to
the uncertainties in reporting requirements, potential future penalties for not meeting
targets, and current time constraints of staff, it is recommended that this Board adopt the
State’s targets.
Ralston stated that the Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC)
unanimously recommended the State’s targets be adopted at their November 8th meeting.
i. Consider approval of performance measure target setting
Monition to approve by Green, seconded by Berner. The motion carried
unanimously.
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c. Consider approval of scoring criteria for Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG),
Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), and Carbon Reduction Program (CRP) funds
allocated by MPOJC
Bothell explained that every other year the Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson
County (MPOJC) opens grant applications for Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG)
and Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funding. The grant application for STBG
funding will be available next year; however, TAP funding may be delayed due to pending
program changes relating to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and revised
program guidance released by the FHWA. The Board will receive an update on the TAP
funding timeline once more information is available.
Similar to previous years, Bothell asked the Board to review the adopted STBG and TAP
scoring criteria for use in scoring the STBG and TAP applications. The scoring criteria
were last revised and approved in November 2020 for use in the 2021 grant application
process. The scoring criteria were also used to score and rank projects to be included in
the MPOJC 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan. Furthermore, the criteria correspond
to the guiding principles in the MPOJC 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan.
In addition to the STBG and TAP funding, the IIJA authorized a new Carbon Reduction
Program (CRP) to reduce transportation emissions. CRP funding has been allocated to
the MPOJC for the next five years with an average of $340,000 available each year. The
CRP funding can be used on a wide range of activities. Activities include bike and
pedestrian related projects that are currently eligible for funding under TAP, traffic control
devices, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure to name a few examples. As part of
the program, the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) must develop a carbon
reduction strategy.
Bothell explained that the Board will receive an update on next steps once the Iowa DOT
provides more information. Though specific program direction is not yet available, it is
anticipated that the solicitation and programming of projects will be similar to TAP and
thus staff recommends using the same criteria for project scoring. If a community submits
a project under any of the grant programs and it is not compatible with the scoring criteria,
the project can be deliberated based upon its merits and awarded funding as deemed
appropriate.
Bothell added that the Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC) unanimously
recommended approval of the STBG, TAP, and CRP scoring criteria at their November
8th meeting. Bothell further clarified that the scoring criteria is one tool the board can use
to assess and compare potential grant funded projects. The Board is not required to award
funding based solely on project scores.
i. Consider approval of scoring criteria for funds allocated by MPOJC
Monition to approve by Bergus, seconded by Green. The motion carried
unanimously.
d. Update on the Federal Functional Class (FFC) revision process for local roadways
Bothell explained that the use of Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) funds is only
permitted on roadways that are classified as a collector street or higher in the Federal
Functional Classification (FFC) System. She then noted that at the Transportation
Technical Advisory Committee meeting on November 8th, she asked each community to
review the current classification map and submit any updates to roadway classifications
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before November 30, 2022.
Bothell stated that roads that do not provide a high level of transportation connectivity or
new roadways that are not included in a community’s Capital Improvement Program will
not be approved by the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT). She finally noted
that about 33% of our roadways in the urbanized area are currently classified on the FFC
system and that there is opportunity to classify approximately 11 additional miles.
Bothell said the TTAC will review the current FFC map and once staff receives their
proposal it will be sent to the Iowa DOT for pre-approval. Staff will then bring a
recommendation to the TTAC and Board for final approval.
5. OTHER BUSINESS
a. Update from the Johnson County Mobility Coordinator
Schneider provided an update on the projects she is currently working on as the County’s
Mobility Coordinator. She is focused on connecting people with transportation resources.
50% of the funding for her position comes from the county, 35% from Iowa City, and 15%
from Coralville. She offers travel training, technology use training, and general
transportation system information. In FY22 she connected with 297 individuals and gave
20 presentations with an overall attendance of 220. She is currently working on a project
with the National Center for Mobility Management. A Design Challenge Grant was applied
for and received for this project. The project’s focus is on how individuals can best use
transportation to get to work when private transportation and public transit are not
available. A test of this project was conducted in September with a demand response
service to pick up employees and drop them off at work. There were more requests for
rides than rides available and the demand response model performed well.
b. Discuss the ‘Severson Charity Challenge’ for this holiday season
Walz spoke on the history and future of the Severson Charity Challenge; over time, interest
has waned. In order to garner more interest in the challenge, Walz offered GoFundMe,
PayPal, or Venmo as ways to easily collect donations to be distributed to the area food
pantries. After some discussion, it was decided to make this the final year of the challenge
with communities working as one and Sullivan proposed some money be set aside for a
permanent memorial with Linda’s name on it.
6. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn was made by Wayson; Bergus seconded. Meeting adjourned by From at
5:40 p.m.